General News
IFC, WTO Agree to Enhance Cooperation on Trade Finance
Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, World Trade Organization, Director-General and Makhtar Diop, IFC Managing Director agreed to enhance cooperation between the two organizations in order to explore ways to improve the availability of trade financing for regions in need.
In a joint statement, the two pledged to enhance existing cooperation to improve the analytics, identification, and detection of trade finance gaps in order to better direct capacity building and other resources where unmet demand is greatest, particularly in Africa.
“Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy but without trade finance, there can be no effective trade,” Diop said. “By expanding our knowledge of trade finance gaps and bolstering traders’ capacity, IFC and the WTO can help small enterprises in developing countries integrate into the global economy.”
“Our developing country members regularly identify a lack of trade finance as a major obstacle to participating in global trade – all the more so for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and businesses led by women,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
“Working together, experts from our two organizations will be able to better analyse, detect, and explain trade finance gaps with a view to directing finite resources where they are needed the most. I believe that a significant share of trade finance gaps results from knowledge gaps.”
Most trade is not paid cash-in-advance. The short-term payment risk involved in international trade is mitigated by a credit, guarantee or credit insurance, present in up to 80 percent of global trade transactions. The sum of these facilities provided by financial and other institutions is known as trade finance.
In their joint statement, the WTO and the IFC agreed to work with small traders and financial institutions at the local level to better understand the ecosystem of trade finance.
The heads of the two organizations also pledged to improve access to trade finance training programs in emerging markets, mainly in Africa, strengthen the ability of local financial institutions to meet compliance challenges, and facilitate knowledge and awareness for exporters and importers of trade finance support available from development financial institutions.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) data protection cumulative revenue rose by 93.6 per cent to N12 billion in 2024 from N6.2 billion in 2023.
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner, NDPC
This was revealed by the Commission in its 2024 Annual Data Protection Report.
The Commission further revealed that a total of 23,000 jobs were created in the data protection industry in 2024 representing a 127 per cent increase when compared with the 10,123 jobs created in 2023.
NDPC added that compliance revenue also increased to N1.5 billion from N325 million recorded in 2023, while the number of verified Data Protection Officers increased from 1,955 in 2023 to 2,888 in 2024.
The Commission’s 2024 Data Protection Report stated that the number of companies that filed compliance audit reports also increased from 3,451 in 2023 to 4,691 in 2024.
Commenting on the report, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner, NDPC, said Nigeria has made significant progress in safeguarding the freedoms and interests of data subjects since the establishment of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in 2023.
“The growth trajectory follows the developmental priorities of the Federal Government as well as the Strategic blueprint of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
“More importantly, it is a demonstration of our commitment to the implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (NDPSRAP) 2023-2027,” he said.
He added that the Commission has been holding data controllers and processors accountable for their acts and omissions under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act).
He also said the requirement for fair, lawful, and transparent processing of personal data, rights to information, access, and objection to data processing, which many may esteem lightly prior to the 4th Industrial Revolution, are now very fundamental to the work of the Commission.
“This means that a trader in Ariara, Gusau or Balogun markets can rest assured that his/her personal data will not be used to open a bank account or to take a loan without his/her consent,” Olatunji stated.
President Bola Tinubu has been dragged to court by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), over alleged N167 billion project fraud.
A statement made available to journalists by SERAP on Sunday pointed out that Tinubu’s failure to order prosecution of contractors who collected money to the tune of N167 billion to execute projects, but failed to do so, triggered the lawsuit against him.
SERAP said it identified 31 ministries, departments and agencies of government that failed to have their projects executed, despite funds committed to the contractors handling those projects.
The civil society organization decried the huge number of failed projects across agencies of government.
Noting that transparency is key to accountability, it urged the government to disclose all information related to the fraudulent contracts.
“Nigerians have the right to democratic governance, to influence government decisions, and to assess progress while holding officials accountable,” SERAP said in the statement.
The statement identified a number of government agencies with failed projects.
The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), alone allegedly paid N100 billion to companies for projects that were never completed.
Other MDAs with failed contracts include, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Pension Commission, Abuja, Federal College of Land Resources Technology, Owerri, Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, Office and Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF.
Also listed are Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Niger State, National Centre for Women Development, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, National Business and Technical Examinations Board, NABTEB, and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Fortune Global Shipping and Logistics Limited is set to transform the business landscape of the logistics industry through services in oil and gas logistics, project cargo and lots more.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr. Eric Opah, in a statement said the organisation is expanding into more regions across the globe with its latest addition of a corporate office in Benin Republic, while the Abuja and Lekki free trade zones which follow soon will be part of asset acquisition to serve the clients better.
In the statement tagged, “Plans for 2025: Global Business Expansion, Exciting Benefits for Customers Top the List,” Opah said he remains committed to upholding and promoting global standards and will stop at nothing in providing value added services to support clients and help them thrive this year.
He said: “The organisation is expanding into more regions across the globe with its latest addition of a corporate office in Benin Republic, while the Abuja and Lekki free trade zones which follow soon will be part of asset acquisition to serve the clients better.
“Much more, the number one Africa logistics partner has reiterated the commitment to provide innovative and ‘value-centric’ services in oil and gas logistics, project cargo and lots more.
“We remain committed to upholding and promoting global standards and will stop at nothing in providing value added services to support our clients and help them thrive this year.”
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